Page 51 of If He Hadn't Cheated
On Wednesday afternoon, he appears at my desk with a look I haven’t seen before, something dark, something determined.
“Come with me,” he says.
I follow him into the elevator, pulse racing. The doors close, and the small space pulls us closer.
“Where are we going?” I ask.
“Dinner,” he says, his voice warm velvet. “No work this time.”
My heart trips. “So… a date?”
Silence. He turns his head slowly, his gaze intent.
“I didn’t say that.”
“You didn’t have to.”
His lips twitch. “Then yes. A date.”
The restaurant he takes me to is intimate. Soft lighting, candles flickering, a window overlooking the city. He pulls outmy chair, his fingers brushing my arm. The touch is barely there, but my whole body reacts.
The conversation flows effortlessly. We talk about everything, childhood stories, stupid fears, things we loved and things we lost. He’s surprisingly open, letting pieces of himself fall into the space between us.
At one point, he says, “I’ve wanted to take you out for a long time.”
I stop breathing. “Knox…”
His eyes lock on mine. “I’m not crossing a line you don’t want crossed.”
Everything in me trembles. “I want…” I can’t finish. The words tangle in my throat.
But he hears them anyway.
Later, outside my building, he steps closer, so close I feel the heat of him.
He brushes a strand of hair behind my ear. My breath stutters.
“I’m not kissing you tonight.” His voice is low, rough. “Because if I do, I won’t stop.”
My knees weaken.
“Goodnight, Lana,” he whispers, with a light kiss on the cheek.
And even though he doesn’t touch me again, I feel him everywhere.
26
Idon’t sleep. And I can tell neither did he. He looks too intense the next morning, too focused on everything except the work in front of him.
We try pretending nothing changed. But the air between us crackles, pulling us in like magnets. By evening, most of the staff has gone home. I’m gathering my things when Knox appears in my doorway, his voice low, his eyes unreadable.
“Stay,” he says.
One word. My heart trips.
“Why?” I whisper.
His jaw tightens. “Because if you leave, I’ll go back to pretending I don’t want you.”
